Disposable absorbent garments are well known in the art. Such garments typically include a moisture-impervious backing sheet, an absorbent pad, and a liner sheet that contacts the body of a person wearing the garment. In addition, elasticized regions are provided around the edges of the garment for securing it about the waist and legs of a wearer. Disposable diapers having elasticized margins for placement about the legs of a wearer are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,462 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,861. An absorbent article having elasticized side margins and waistband margins is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,562.
Despite previous advancements in the field of absorbent garments, persons skilled in the art continue their efforts to produce more comfortable garments which are better able to contain urinary and fecal excretions. For instance, problems with prior diaper designs include leakage of urinary or fecal material from the garment. Prolonged contact of liquid or semi-solid excreta with the skin of the wearer is also a continuing problem in the art. Recent absorbent garments have utilized passageways through the liner sheet to help contain such excretions, and more rapidly remove them from contact with the wearer. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,147 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,312 describe absorbent articles having a passageway through the liner that helps convey waste from the skin of the wearer.
Yet another approach to the problem of diapers leaking excreta is to provide on the diaper lining an elevated barrier to direct movement of waste within the diaper during use. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,572,342 describes a flexible, resilient hydrophobic strip that may be placed between the area of the diaper into which excretion occurs, and the waist bands or leg gathers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,268,213 discloses longitudinally extending ribs with convex top surfaces that guide body fluids in a longitudinal direction along the interior surface of the diaper. This ribbed design is said to distribute the fluid evenly across the interior surface of the diaper.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,568 discloses a disposable diaper having a resilient barrier member that extends from the inner liner toward the body of the wearer and inhibits the longitudinal movement of liquid or viscous waste material between the front and rear sections of the diaper. In one embodiment, the barrier is a continuous linear polymer foam ridge member that extends transversely across the inner liner of the diaper. In an alternative embodiment, the barrier is provided by a plurality of parallel, longitudinally extending elastic members that form ruffles aligned in a transverse row across the liner layer. The barriers are said to provide an isolation pocket at the rear section of the diaper, or at a fluid insult target zone in the front section of the diaper. The ruffles are further described as helping reduce wrinkles in the liner layer so that liquid penetrates more rapidly through the liner.
Another problem with disposable diaper garments is that the relationship of the garment to the anatomy of the user varies depending on the gender of the wearer. Females, for example, direct a flow of urine somewhat perpendicularly into a region of the diaper adjacent the wearer's perineum, while a male will direct a flow of urine more toward a region of the diaper adjacent the wearer's pubic area. U.S. Pat. No. 3,559,648 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,766,922 attempted to address this problem by providing diapers with differing concentrations of absorptive material in those areas of the diaper where urine would first impinge and collect. None of these designs, however, have proved entirely satisfactory. Although the urine impingement areas of the gender specific diapers may provide improved region specific absorption, liquid was still able to migrate away from the target regions along the inner liner layer.
It is accordingly a general object of the invention to provide an absorbent garment that inhibits flow of excretions toward the margins of the garment.
Another object is to provide such a garment that enhances absorption of excreta into an absorptive inner layer of the garment.
Another object is to design such a garment that is suited to the unique anatomical requirements of the gender of the wearer.
Yet another object is to inhibit the pooling of liquid waste within the diaper of a recumbent wearer.
Finally, it is an object to provide a diaper that retains human waste within the confines of its borders, away from the skin of the wearer, in a comfortable fashion that is acceptable to the user.